Infinite Loop —

Leopard successfully run on non-Apple hardware

Enterprising hackers have succeeded in dual booting Leopard and Vista on …

Preface: In no way do we condone or recommend trying out this hack, as it breaks the Mac OS X EULA.

Ever since Apple's transition to Intel processors, a small contingent of users has been calling for the ability to run OS X on non-Apple Intel and AMD hardware. Apple hasn't bowed to such a request just yet, and probably never will. Of course, Apple's refusal hasn't stopped some enterprising hackers from getting OS X running on non-Apple hardware, despite the fact that such use is illegal according to the EULA. Recently, hackers have taken things even further, and have been able to get Leopard running on non-Apple hardware alongside Windows Vista. It's a neat trick, but the complicated process and illegality will probably confine this hack to the most die-hard OS X-on-x86 fanatics.

Before I say any more, keep in mind that if running Tiger on non-Apple hardware is illegal, doing the same with Leopard is doubly so since Leopard hasn't been released yet. The authors of the above tutorial go to great lengths to point this out, and don't link to or even really discuss the files needed to get the hack working. And even if you were feeling frisky enough to try this at home, the process is daunting. There are 46 steps in all, comprising some illegal downloads, lots of command line work, burning, patching, and even some finger-crossing. I'm pretty comfortable with all things Terminal, but these instructions look a bit daunting even to me, so I really wouldn't recommend trying this at home.

So what good is it having instructions for running Leopard on non-Apple hardware if it's illegal? For one thing, it's an interesting proof of concept, since you can actually do it if you've got a healthy disregard for license agreements. Hacks like this are also keeping at least a modicum of pressure on Apple to consider opening up OS X, since the tools for this type of hack will get better and better. In my mind, Apple products are about more than just OS X, so it's possible Jobs could have a change of heart in the future. And then flying pigs will bring you a copy of OS X that can run on any x86 hardware you please.